Will Sanders
Cite this Page
"Will Sanders," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/850.
- Position
- Gardener
- Years in President's House
- circa 1929 – 1942
- Legal Status
- Free Person
- Gender
- Male
- Race/Ethnicity
- White
- Biography
- Will Sanders was born in Richmond County, Virginia on September 15, 1878. (1) Information about his life and career is limited, but he was employed by the Office of Public Buildings and Grounds, and as early as 1929, he was assigned to the White House. (2) It appears that he worked in the White House greenhouses near the Bureau of Engraving and Printing on the National Mall, as his 1942 draft card lists David E. Saunders as his supervisor; Saunders was chief of the horticultural section, meaning he was in charge of the greenhouse complex. (3) The greenhouses were demolished later that year to make way for a local highway expansion, which likely impacted Sanders’ role.
- (1) Will Sanders in the U.S., World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942, National Archives at St. Louis; St Louis, MO, USA; World War II Draft Cards (Fourth Registration) For the District of Columbia; Record Group Title: Records of the Selective Service System; Record Group Number: 147; Box or Roll Number: 060, Ancestry.com.
(2)Employees on Duty at the Executive Office, 1929, Lou Henry Hoover Papers, Subject Files, White House Christmas 1929, Herbert Hoover Presidential Library; Boyd’s District of Columbia Directory (R.L. Polk and Co., 1929), pg. 1364.
(3) Will Sanders in the U.S., World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942, National Archives at St. Louis; St Louis, MO, USA; World War II Draft Cards (Fourth Registration) For the District of Columbia; Record Group Title: Records of the Selective Service System; Record Group Number: 147; Box or Roll Number: 060, Ancestry.com. - Birthplace
- Richmond County, Virginia, USA